When it comes to sport-utility vehicles, what prominent automaker is missing from the segment? Volvo, of course. That will be remedied early next fall, when the Swedish member of the Ford family brings out the XC90. To build enthusiasm for the SUV and try to sway consumers from buying a BMW X5 or Mercedes-Benz ML until the XC90 arrives as a 2003 model, Volvo has decided to give consumers a peek at the machine at the Detroit Auto Show in January. Those who wouldn't want to visit Detroit in June, much less January, will be able to see the machine at the Chicago Auto Show in February.

Spike Lee has sued Spike TV (a Viacom network formerly known as The Nashville Network that still goes by TNN), claiming its use of Spike is an infringement on his name. It's a silly lawsuit, but not as silly as the case brought by the carmaker Volvo against the Volo Auto Museum in north suburban Volo. At least Spike Lee and Spike TV share a common spike. Volvo filed a complaint with the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, claiming the museum's Web page, volocars.

The U.S. International Trade Commission ordered an investigation of a U.S. inventor's trade complaint that A.B. Volvo of Sweden, and its U.S. affiliate, Volvo North America Corp., of Rockleigh, N.J., infringed a patent covering antilock ignition systems and components used in automobiles. The complaint was filed by John McDougal, a Detroit engineer who holds the U.S. patent for the antilock ignition systems.

The Swedish carmaker Volvo said it is cutting 5,000 jobs this year and next because profits during the first six months of 1990 fell by half. A reduction in demand for cars and trucks in North America was a major cause of the profit decline, according to Volvo's interim report. An 11 percent decline in domestic demand and a 17 percent drop in the British market also contributed to the lower profits, the report said.

Before BMW popularized the expression yuppiemobile, Volvo was the choice of the upwardly mobile status seekers, those willing to pay big dollars for high quality, durability and safety in a package that resembled a box on wheels. If Volkswagen hadn`t coined the term "ugly" for its Beetle, Volvo's bland machines certainly would have qualified. Volvo might not be attractive, and it certainly costs a lot of money, but its loyalists insisted longevity made up for the ills. Who cared what it looked like as long as it was so safe?

Volvo may have built its reputation on solid reliability and a concern for safety, but its shareholders are enduring an uncharacteristically hair-raising ride. The messy collapse earlier this month of the Swedish company's plan to merge its car and truck-building operations with those of Renault, which is owned by the French government, has left Volvo without a chairman or a functioning board, and without a strategy or enough long-term financing for the next few crucial years. Amid the wreckage of the Renault deal, however, are signs that Volvo may be able to engineer a wholesale corporate restructuring.

A recurring hip problem has forced John McEnroe to withdraw from next week's $315,000 Volvo Tennis/Chicago Tournament. McEnroe, ranked ninth in the world, was to be the No. 2 seed in Chicago behind Jimmy Connors. McEnroe is playing in a tournament in Brussels this week. He won a match on Thursday to advance into the quarterfinals, but was reported to be playing with pain. He was to consult with a doctor in Brussels late Friday afternoon. McEnroe has consulted specialists about the hip problem, a combination of bursitis and tendinitis, in the past.

Sweden's contributions to the well-being of the world have included pancakes, meatballs, blondes, Volvo and Saab-and some will argue just how important two of those five items have proved to be. For what seems like a millennium, Volvo has promoted safety, durability and longevity. In other words, the tune Volvo croons is one of practicality. You get the feeling that the typical Volvo owner never leaves the house without putting on clean underwear-even though most of them are under the impression the car will never be in an accident.